Airsoft guns are one of the most controversial areas of sporting equipment on the market.
They can be mistaken for real guns easily. The only distinguishing characteristic between an airsoft gun and a real gun is an airsoft gun's orange muzzle. But even this more noticeable muzzle can be very small and hard to see, and most of the time they are not required by law.
There are far more people who aren't knowledgeable about airsoft guns than people who are. That means that even with the occasional orange-tipped muzzle, onlookers who see kids pointing guns alone or with friends in their backyards probably will either not see it or not know what it means.
Nine times out of 10 that leads to a call to the cops and a huge, inconvenient misunderstanding.
I've heard that kids have jokingly pointed their airsoft guns at cops—at least, jokingly in their eyes—and the cops shot them because their guns didn't have the orange-tipped muzzle, making the cops think that they had real guns and they were a serious threat to the safety of others around them. Some kids have probably died that way.
I've heard another specific story about a young teenager holding a girl hostage because he was holding an airsoft gun and she thought he had a real one, likely because the gun had no orange-tipped muzzle. The boy held the girl hostage for hours until the situation was somehow resolved.
But in spite of the possible danger involved, I understand why airsoft gun owners go without the orange tips unless they have to have them: to make the gun look like the real thing because it's more "in."
Orange sticks out on a black-and-silver gun, and it's really ugly. Black is cool, respectable, and sleek. Orange makes you seem like a beginner. Black gives the impression that you're a marksman.
Given the possible dangers at hand, the thing that bewilders me is that many places do not have laws against removing or painting over the orange tips. That does nothing to make the use of airsoft guns more safe.
As unattractive as those stupid orange-tipped muzzles are, keep them on for your safety and the peace of others around you.
There's also the dangers involved in fighting airsoft wars. The rounds are made of hard plastic and are sold in sizes up to .25 grams in diameter. Airsoft guns can shoot these rounds at velocities up to 450 feet per second (the legal limit).
While this may not seem dangerous, it can be enough to crack the skin and cause minor bleeding. Some airsoft guns can even cause more damage than their brethren, paintball guns—which have to shoot at higher velocities because of the greater size of their rounds. Paintball guns have been known to cause welts from being shot with them.
But beyond all the risks and dangers associated with airsoft guns, there is also a really fun aspect to them. They look and behave exactly like real guns so that it feels like you're firing a real gun. But you don't deal with the life-threatening danger of bullet-firing real guns.
Plus they're a great, safer alternative to real guns for teenagers who shouldn't be shooting them yet. I imagine it's a lot of fun to shoot airsoft guns with your friends in the backyard. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why young boys like them so much.
But no matter what, airsoft guns are—and will continue to be—one of the most controversial areas of sports equipment on the market.
5 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Jes Sharai 10 months ago
.68 caliber paintball guns are limited, at any organized field, to a velocity limit of 300 FPS and lower. This is not a legal limit; it is a limit self imposed on paintball by those that play and want to keep the game safe and responsible. Paintballers wear goggles whenever in a live fie area and have their barrels "socked" when off the field. The scary thing with Airsoft, is that many players use shop glasses instead of appropriate safety gear to protect their eyes. Paintball - 300 FPS full face and eye protection OR Airsoft - 450 FPS with shop goggles. I guess they wil just have to stay controversial.
Edit Comment Cancel
Matt Gilmartin 10 months ago
Whoa, Jes. I didn't know all that about paintball, considering I don't like paintball. But if I'm understanding that correctly, you agree with me that airsoft guns can be more dangerous than paintball guns.
Edit Comment Cancel
Brad Carroll 10 months ago
Hi Matt,
Thanks for writing this. I hope that it reaches the right audience.
I just wanted to add a couple of extra danger points that didn't make it into the article, as follows:
1. Possibility of eye damage if rounds are fired into the face
2. Although quite unlikely, a round could enter the ear canal and potentially cause damage
3. Risk of swallowing or inhaling a round
4. Risk of asphyxiation if struck by a round directly in the throat area - unlikely, but it does happen!
5. Small children or pets may swallow rounds that they pick up, so care should be taken not to leave them lying around (the rounds, not the kids!).
One other problem with Airsoft is that although it can be fun when those playing with them are mature and sensible enough to realize what they are doing for what it is, there is also the element that it can potentially "teach" children that it is OK to point guns at one another. So appropriate instruction should be given to younger users, and possibly adult supervision (although that is decidedly uncool).
I think it is for the best if people using these guns for play or sport attempt to use them in areas where they are not likely to be observed by the general public, which will certainly make things go much more smoothly.
Finally, nobody should ever point anything at police or even at unsuspecting members of the public. If a person genuinely believes you are pointing a gun at them, they could very well have grounds to have you arrested for assault and possibly could sue for damages due to the stress caused to them.
Pointing an Airsoft gun at anybody other than a consenting player is definitely something to be avoided at all costs and should never be considered a joke.
Once again, thanks for your article, and sorry for going all "school marm" on this matter!
Brad
Edit Comment Cancel
Matt Gilmartin 10 months ago
Are you an Airsoft research scientist, or possibly a doctor who researches the effect of sports on individual health? Wow, man, you certainly know a lot of the health risks involved with playing airsoft! And by the way, I did think about eye damage, but technically airsoft players are supposed to wear eye protection. However, not many do, so I gladly take that point. And I suppose I forgot to mention that only royally stupid kids would even jokingly threaten to use weapons against anyone, especially cops. But I thought that that was obvious, so, oh well. But really, you sound like a research scientist or a doctor—you thought of a lot of health risks I never would have thought of, not to mention you had heard of asphyxiation before and you knew what it was.
Edit Comment Cancel
Nun U F-nbiznus 6 months ago
Matt you are a complete moron.
It is plainly obvious that you lack the intelligence to perform any real or meaningful research. If you had you would understand that despite your very obvious prejudice, Paintball and Airsoft are considerably more safe than the contact sports that you so plainly favor. I would love to know where you acquired your 9 out of 10 statistics from. You have made no effort to understand your subject matter ( IE: .25 is a mass not a diameter, Paintballs are shot at a lower velocity due to their larger kinetic mass. No legal limit exists for the velocities on either Paintball or Airsoft. The only Federal limitations are on the amount of kinetic energy that a non fire arm can place down range in a given amount of time, and that replica guns have a non removable 1/4 inch blaze orange tip on the weapon.) I find it odd that someone who calls them selves a journalist would go out of their way to slander something that they know so very little about. I would imagine that if you had approached a local field that they would have allowed you to participate in or interview people who did participate in either Paintball or Airsoft. Writing in ignorance does not benefit anyone! This so called "Article" alleges controversy. The only "controversy rises when the uninformed and undereducated rely on this exact type of misinformation to form preconceived notions and then espouse them to other in the form of facts. Do the world a favor and either stop writing or start learning.
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.